There are a wide variety of concealed carry methods for handgun users. One popular carry style involves holstering a handgun inside the waistband (“IWB”). Holster products used to facilitate IWB carry include the: (1) single clip hybrid holster and (2) full Kydex holster. To varying extent, and as explained further below, each of these holster products utilize Kydex. Kydex provides holster products a functional material that is waterproof, scratch resistant, shape retentive over time with respect to a predetermined three-dimensional form, and relatively low friction.
The abovementioned holster types are discussed in turn. First, traditional single clip hybrid holsters function, in part, by sandwiching a handgun between a first holster layer of leather (adjacent to a user's body) and a second holster layer of molded Kydex (distal from the user's body).
Importantly, one problem with single clip hybrid holsters is that, although the leather layer provides comfort and yield or dynamism as the main body contact surface for the user, this layer also tends to soften and/or lose shape over time. This softening reduces the overall handgun retention efficiency of the holster.
Second, full Kydex holsters provide an alternative to traditional single clip hybrid IWB holsters because they use Kydex (instead of leather) for the first holster layer. This more extensive use of Kydex ensures higher shape and firearm retention efficiency of the holster over time, but it also sacrifices the comfort and dynamism otherwise afforded by a leather layer.
Ultimately, despite the variation provided by single clip hybrid and full Kydex holsters, a problem remains with respect to optimally blending the form and function of leather and Kydex in IWB holsters.